This invention corresponds to a constructive element to be used in habitable or non-habitable buildings where said constructive element includes al least one unfolded region.
The utilization of constructive elements such as steel profiles is a practice widely used in the erection of habitable or non-habitable buildings. Due to the large-scale utilization of this type of elements, more efficient configurations are continuously being required that must be capable of adequately satisfying the requirements of the project as well as having more competitive costs. Among the requirements, we can mention: structural resistance, durability, good aesthetic appearance, manufacture, simple, rapid and economic transport and installation.
One of the applications for this type of profile is associated to structural walls, which, typically, have a framework made of a plurality of profiles. This framework defines two faces on which a layer of finishing material and/or insulation such as plaster-cardboard, fiber-cement or wood is placed.
The type of profile that is used traditionally to make structural walls, such as those mentioned in the previous paragraph, is one whose cross-section is essentially U-shaped, that includes a core and two wings that extend from said core and finish in two respective free ends. Additionally, in order to improve the structural performance of said profiles, the free ends of the wings are normally reinforced with two stiffener flanges that spread out, coming closer to each other, from the free ends of said wings.
When making the structural walls that use these profiles, the mentioned layers of finishing material and/or insulation are joined respectively to each one of the wings of each one of the profiles of said framework.
Among the numerous production processes that are used to make this type of profile, cold-rolling is the one most used because it permits the manufacture of the mentioned profiles at very competitive costs. The cold-rolling process permits the manufacture of profiles from a metal sheet having a constant thickness; therefore the resulting profiles also have a constant thickness.
When cold-rolling is used for profiles with geometries similar to a “U” with stiffened wings, such as those described above, a technical problem arises because one, the core of said profiles has the same thickness as the wings and second, said core is subject to significantly lower stress than said wings, which is why the core is over-dimensioned; therefore the said profile occupies an unnecessarily high amount of steel in its core.
This technical problem is associated not only to profiles but also to other constructive elements that, in general, have a constant thickness and have parts that are subject to significantly lower stresses than others.
Based on the above, it is evident that inventions are needed that permit the manufacture of profiles and other related constructive elements and that are able to solve the technical problem indicated in the previous paragraph.